Karachi: After senior batsman Younis Khan, exciting young opener Ahmed Shehzad has also praised the team's Zimbabwean batting coach Grant Flower for raising the bar for Pakistani batsmen.
Shehzad said Flower played a big role in the turnaround of batting form of the Pakistani batsmen, who have scored a plethora of hundreds against Australia and New Zealand in Test matches in the United Arab Emirates.
"I think Grant Flower and trainer Grant Ludon have worked very hard with us and on raising our bar and at the same time the players themselves were fed up with the streak of losing matches," Shehzad said.
Shehzad himself has scored two centuries against both Australia and New Zealand while Younis Khan smashed four and Misbah-ul-Haq and Azhar Ali three each. Wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed also notched up a century against Australia.
But Shehzad was forced to return home from Abu Dhabi after suffering a depressed hairline fracture in his cheek-bone after being hit by a short-pitched ball from New Zealand's Corey Anderson on the second day of the first Test after he had compiled a career best 176 runs.
The youngster said Younis had also inspired the team with his attitude and performances after joining them for the Test series against Australia.
Younis was dropped for the ODI series against Australia.
"All in all it has been a terrific collective effort from the players and management to produce such sparkling results and the turnaround in form," he told Geo Super channel.
"The players were themselves fed up after losing regularly in recent months and I think Grant Flower stepped in and pushed us at the right time," he said.
Younis had also heaped praise on Flower after scoring three successive hundreds against Australia in the two Tests.
Shehzad also dismissed concerns that the Pakistan team was playing and winning on very slow and low bounced tracks and the batsmen might face problems in the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand early next year.
"I think every team should take home advantage and we have done that. I also think there is no better preparation than winning matches and gaining the right momentum. I think if we keep on winning games like this our confidence will be sky high when we go for the World Cup," he said.
Shehzad said that Pakistan would be playing two ODIs in New Zealand and will also have three weeks of acclimatisation time in Australia before the World Cup.
"I think our batsmen including myself are capable enough of using that time in Australia to get used to the pitches and conditions there," he added.
